Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 26,402 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 28,579 shares.The stock last traded at $31.59 and had previously closed at $31.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair lowered Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.20. The company has a market cap of $632.83 million, a P/E ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 1.08.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $112.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.58 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Karat Packaging by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 6,178 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 15.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 24,020 shares in the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.